Feminist News

Rwandan Women Gain Inheritance Rights

Ancilla Abondibana became one of the first Rwandan women to win a case under the new Rwandan law that gives women of Rwanda the right to inherit property. The law is a result of the changing political and social structure of Rwanda due to the country's 1994 genocide, which killed 500,000 people in less than 100 days. The provision states that men and women children inherit property "in equal parts without any discrimination between male and female children" (6/22/00 Christian Science Monitor). The new initiative is a landmark breakthrough for women's rights because most other African countries denies women the right to inherit land.